The invention relates to food processing systems for processing a food product including an elongated strand of food product in a casing having tubular segments serially joined by pinched connection segments, e.g. hot dogs, sausage links, etc.
The invention arose during continuing development efforts directed toward subject matter such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,056,636, 6,086,469, and 6,523,462, all incorporated herein by reference. In such systems, strands of sausage are made on high speed machines by extruding meat emulsion into an elongated casing. The meat-filled casing is then twisted to create sausage links. The link strand is then discharged from the sausage making machine. Loops of sausage comprising a plurality of links are deposited on moving hooks of a conveyor chain. The ultimate length of a given strand is determined by the length of the casing being filled. When a casing has been filled, the sausage making machine is stopped; the casing is tied off or closed to prevent any meat emulsion from exiting the rearmost end of the casing; a new casing is then placed in position to be filled; the machine is re-started and the cycle repeats itself. The linked and looped sausage strand or strands are periodically removed from the conveyor chain or otherwise transported to a food processing station which cooks, smokes, chills and/or otherwise treats the sausage strand before packaging for final delivery to the consumer. Any inefficiency in the process translates into increased cost of production which is reflected in the price of the products to the consumer.
The present invention is directed to improvements in the above noted system including providing higher capacity and other manufacturing efficiencies.
The above noted system is accomplished with a single sausage casing stuffing and linking machine and loading station for the conveyor. A first significant function of the loading apparatus is to properly present the sequence of conveyor chain hooks to the stuffing/linking machine so as to produce a stuffed and linked casing of finite length which is consistently and uniformly draped over the series of hooks, for example, as set forth in noted incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,462. A second significant function of the loading apparatus is to allow for constant velocity movement of the conveyor chain from the loading apparatus through the thermal processing portion of the system while permitting intermittent stopping of the conveyor chain at the stuffing/linking device at the loading station, for example as set forth in incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,469.
In one aspect of the present invention, both of the above noted functions of the loading apparatus are preserved, while incorporating a second sausage stuffing/linking machine and a second loading station. The addition of a second stuffing/lining machine increases the conveyor processing system production capacity. The conveyor travels at a higher speed proportional to the increased production rate. The present system allows for non-synchronized intermittent and differential conveyor chain velocity at the two stuffing/linking devices.
In one embodiment, the system provides first and second loading stations, and first and second buffers receiving the outputs of the first and second loading stations, respectively. The first buffer includes first and second, input and output, conveyor chain accumulators, and the second buffer includes third and fourth, input and output, conveyor chain accumulators. The exit of the third accumulator from the second buffer is not routed to the second loading station, but rather to the first accumulator of the first buffer. The conveyor chain travels serially from the thermal processing station to the third accumulator of the second buffer then to the first accumulator of the first buffer then to the first loading station then to the second accumulator of the first buffer then to the second loading station then to the fourth accumulator of the second buffer then returns to the thermal processing station. A first segment of the chain is loaded with food product at the first loading station, and then a second trailing segment of the chain is indexed past the first loading station at a high rate of speed without product loading. The second loading station loads the empty segments of the conveyor chain not loaded by the first loading station, and then advances the chain at a higher velocity past the segments already containing food product loaded from the first station. The accumulators allow for independent starting, stopping and differential chain velocities at the loading stations, while maintaining constant and uninterrupted chain velocity through the thermal processing station. Periodically stopping the stuffing/linking device at the loading station is a necessary and normal part of its use. Increased food product capacity per conveyor chain length is achieved because two stuffer/linker machines are simultaneously loading on a single conveyor chain. To enable higher speed indexing and advancement of the chain, the loading stations are equipped with retractable lift cams which lift the hooks to an upwardly pivoted position for food product loading, and which retract to allow the hooks to remain in a downwardly depending non-cammed position to facilitate faster movement through the loading station during high speed indexing of the chain.
In another embodiment, the accumulators of the first buffer are synchronized with the accumulators of the second buffer to allow loading from only one of the loading stations, where less capacity is needed, or where a single stuffing/linking machine can keep up the production rate for the particular product in the current run, or where one of the stuffing/linking machines is shut down for maintenance or the like. In the preferred embodiment, with both stuffing/linking machines operating, the production rate is greater than that of a single loader system.